In Oregon, a third driving under the influence of intoxicants (DUII) conviction within a 10-year window is charged as a Class C felony. The rule comes from ORS 813.011: if you pick up a new DUII and already have at least two DUII convictions from the previous 10 years, the new charge is a felony rather than a misdemeanor.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 813.011 – Felony Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants Penalty And once you have been sentenced for a felony DUII, every DUII after that is automatically a felony, no matter how many years pass.
How the 10-Year Lookback Works
Oregon counts prior convictions, not prior arrests or prior offense dates. The lookback clock on each prior starts from the date of that conviction. So the timing of guilty pleas and sentencing can matter: two priors that fall just inside the 10-year window produce a felony charge, while pushing one of them outside that window keeps the current case a misdemeanor.
Convictions from other states count. A prior from anywhere else qualifies if it involved impaired driving or operating a vehicle above that state’s legal alcohol limit.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 813.011 – Felony Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants Penalty Moving to Oregon with two out-of-state DUIs on your record does not reset the count.
The Permanent Felony Ratchet
This is the part most people miss. The 10-year lookback only matters until your first felony DUII. After that, the window disappears for the rest of your life. Every subsequent DUII is a Class C felony, whether it happens two years later or twenty.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 813.011 – Felony Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants Penalty
A single felony DUII conviction permanently changes how Oregon treats you as a driver. There is no mechanism to reset the clock through good behavior or the passage of time.
What a Felony DUII Conviction Carries
A Class C felony DUII comes with a mandatory minimum of 90 days in custody. The statute is explicit that this minimum cannot be reduced for any reason.1Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 813.011 – Felony Driving Under the Influence of Intoxicants Penalty The maximum prison term is five years.2Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Code 161.605 – Maximum Terms of Imprisonment for Felonies The court can also impose a fine of up to $125,000.3Oregon Public Law. Oregon Code 161.625 – Fines for Felonies
The 90-day floor is just that. Sentencing guidelines and the facts of your case can push the actual sentence well beyond it.
Permanent License Revocation
A felony DUII conviction permanently revokes your driving privileges. The same permanent revocation applies if you rack up a third DUII of any kind, even if that third charge is still being prosecuted as a misdemeanor.4Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 809.235 – Permanent Revocation of Driving Privileges
Reinstatement is possible but not guaranteed and not quick. You can petition the circuit court no earlier than 10 years after you are released from incarceration, finish post-prison supervision, or complete probation. Pick up any criminal offense involving a motor vehicle during the revocation period and the 10-year clock restarts from that new conviction.4Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 809.235 – Permanent Revocation of Driving Privileges
Even after the 10-year wait, the court will restore your license only if you prove by clear and convincing evidence that you are rehabilitated, pose no threat to public safety, and have completed any required treatment. A denial is not final; you can petition again later. But there is no automatic path back.
If your license is eventually restored, you will need an ignition interlock device on any vehicle you drive for five years after the restoration date.5Oregon Public Law. Oregon Revised Statutes 813.602 – Circumstances Under Which Ignition Interlock Device Required
Consequences That Outlast the Sentence
Court-imposed penalties are only part of what a felony DUII costs you.
Firearms
Federal law bars anyone convicted of a crime punishable by more than one year in prison from possessing a firearm or ammunition.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts A Class C felony DUII carries up to five years, so a conviction triggers the federal ban. Violating the ban is itself a federal felony. The prohibition applies for life unless the conviction is expunged or civil rights are specifically restored under state law, and Oregon does not offer a straightforward process for restoring firearm rights after a felony.
Entry to Canada
Canada treats impaired driving as a serious crime and can refuse entry to anyone with a DUII conviction, misdemeanor or felony. Since December 2018, Canada’s maximum penalty for impaired driving rose to 10 years, which means DUII offenses no longer qualify for automatic deemed rehabilitation based on the passage of time. Entering Canada with a felony DUII generally requires applying for a Temporary Resident Permit or formal Criminal Rehabilitation, with fees, paperwork, and no guarantee of approval.
Employment and Housing
A felony shows up on background checks and can disqualify you from jobs that require licensing, security clearance, or bonding. Healthcare, education, law enforcement, and transportation roles are often closed off entirely. Landlords routinely screen for felony convictions. These consequences carry no built-in expiration date.
Other Ways a DUII Becomes a Felony
The three-strikes rule is not the only route to a felony charge. If someone is killed or seriously injured in a crash caused by your impaired driving, the charges change entirely.
A driver who kills someone can face first-degree manslaughter, a Class A felony carrying up to 20 years in prison, when the driver has at least three prior DUII convictions in the preceding 10 years, or a prior conviction for assault from impaired driving where the victim suffered serious physical injury. Without that prior history, a fatal crash caused by criminal negligence while intoxicated can still be charged as criminally negligent homicide, a Class B felony with up to 10 years in prison.7Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 163.145 – Criminally Negligent Homicide
Driving on a license revoked for a felony DUII is itself a felony. Criminal driving while suspended or revoked becomes a Class B felony when the underlying revocation stemmed from a felony DUII conviction, vehicular homicide, or vehicular assault.8Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes 811.182 – Criminal Driving While Suspended or Revoked Penalties A Class B felony carries up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Does a Prior Diversion Count Toward the Felony Threshold?
A completed DUII diversion ends in dismissal, not a conviction. Because ORS 813.011 counts prior “convictions” for the felony threshold, a dismissed diversion should not count as a prior for that calculation. A prior diversion does, however, block you from entering diversion again for 15 years, and anyone with a prior felony DUII conviction is ineligible for diversion at all.9Oregon State Legislature. Oregon Revised Statutes Chapter 813 – DUII Diversion Eligibility If you entered diversion and then failed to complete it, the guilty plea stands and you are sentenced on the original charge, which becomes a conviction that does count.